Deadline: May 22, 2018
The African Union Commission, with the support of the European Union, invites proposals of the 2nd Phase of the African Union Research Grant. The Grant programme is an innovative way to deploy and to improve science and technology research so that it contributes to Africa’s poverty reduction, economic growth and social development efforts.
This call for proposal supports Africa’s Science Technology and Innovation Strategy-2024 which addresses the aspirations identified under Agenda 2063 and Priority 3 on Human development of the EU-Africa partnership. The call supports research on: Food, Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) with particular attention on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition.
The African Union Research Grant (AURG) is one of the programmes initiated within the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (DHRST) to support a Pan African research and development through grants and direct funding. The programme provides the needed opportunity to use Science and Technology (S&T) as a tool for sustainable development, building and strengthening Africa’s S&T capacities.
Priority Areas
The African Union Research Grants II – 2nd Call for proposal for 2018 distinctly focuses on one of the socio economic development priorities sectors expressed within the Africa’s Science Technology and Innovation Strategy -2024 (STISA-2024) and also related to the focus area defined within the EU-Africa High Level Policy Dialogue Initiatives on STI
- Agriculture and food systems for nutrition, within the broader theme of Food, Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA)
More details on these focus areas are given in Section 2.1.3 of the Guidelines.
Grants
- Any grant awarded under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: USD 500,000.00
- maximum amount: USD 1,000,000.00
- Any grant awarded under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action
- Minimum percentage: 50% of the total eligible costs of the action.
- Maximum percentage: 80% of the total eligible costs of the action (see also section 2.1.4).
- Within these margins, the exact applicable percentage is determined by the applicant only – the applicant is free to choose within the above range.
- In no event shall the Contracting Authority’s contribution exceed 80% of the total accepted costs.
- The balance must be financed from the applicant’s or partners’ own resources, or from sources other than African Union financing.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must:
- be legal persons and be nationals of African Union Member States, EU Member States, and
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with their partners, not acting as an intermediary and
- be registered locally in (or have a memorandum of understanding in relevant research areas, with) an eligible African country prior to the publication of this call for proposals and
- have at least a three-year record in the formulation and/or implementation of research activities in Africa for which they will have to provide the relevant legal documents and
- be able to demonstrate their experience and capacity to manage activities corresponding in scale and complexity to those for which a grant has been requested and
- have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the implementation of the proposed action and
- belong to consortia of scientists as explained under 2.1.2 (2) – composition of partnerships. and
- belong to at least one of the following categories:
- National or regional science and technology organizations, research institutions, universities, government ministries or public institutions dealing with scientific research including regional science and technology institutions, with separate legal status, not belonging to any national system but formally recognised by one of the eligible countries; or
- Established science and technology networks provided that: all network members and the network headquarters are located in eligible countries; the network has a legal status; the network is applying in its own right; and the network has been registered for a minimum of two years;
Application
- Applications must be submitted in accordance with the instructions on the Concept Note and the Full application form included in the Grant Application Form annexed to these Guidelines (Annex A).
- Applicants must apply in
- The application form must be completed carefully and as clearly as possible so that it can be assessed properly
- Any error or major discrepancy related to the points listed in the instructions on the Concept Note or any major inconsistency in the application form (e.g. the amounts mentioned in the budget are inconsistent with those mentioned in the application form) may lead to the rejection of the application.
- Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is unclear, thus preventing the African Union Commission from conducting an objective assessment.
The full Guidelines for Applicants, Application form and other supporting documents are available for download here.
For more information, visit African Union Research Grants.
